


stays these couriers

by grainjew



Series: The Postman's Creed (a touch of wind at the heart) [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Genre: Din's Pearl, Friendship, Gen, Post-Canon, me slamming two characters who never met together: be FRIENDS!, medli is a bird and its truly wonderful my friends, or close enough. technically its right before the post-credits scene but shhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 17:46:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17370563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grainjew/pseuds/grainjew
Summary: The Sage of Earth meets the Sage of Wind, and, equally portentously, some pirates.





	stays these couriers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [windyautistic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/windyautistic/gifts).



> it gets expanded on more in the previous fics in this series and only really mentioned here, so if you haven't read those, quick note that i reinterpreted the command melody as a sort of memory-sharing empathy link telepathy thing for the sake of these fics. enjoy!

The iridescent sheen of the bubble surrounding Medli of Dragon Roost Island, Sage of Earth, exploded into nothingness as she breached the surface. All of a sudden, there was wind (oh blessed Goddesses, _wind_ ) in her face and seawater soaking into her clothing, weighing down her feathers and— _Din_ , her _harp_.

Scrambling, frantic, she pulled it off her back and held it up above the waves, as safe as she could get it from splashing, and prayed desperately that the salt water hadn't already done irreparable damage.

It was only once that was done that she managed to take in her surroundings.

A short ways away there was a small point of land, hardly more than an isolated rock. The sea was surprisingly calm — Medli was able to keep her harp and herself above water with little difficulty, despite being about as good a swimmer as she was a flier, which was to say not much of one — and it was warm with the northeast current that had swept her here from the Earth Temple in the southern seas. And in front of her, shaking a violin back and forth to get water off and bobbling to the time of the gentle wavelets, was a creature that resembled nothing more than leaf and some bark.

Their eyes met. The leaf creature’s eyes widened. Medli tried to remember anything she knew about creatures that looked like leaves.

“Oh!” said the leaf creature — Korok, maybe? That seemed right — “You must be Medli, the Earth Sage!” He made a little trill. Medli stared warily, treading water. “I saw you a bunch in Link's memories, in the Wind Temple!”

Medli put a hand to her face, the one that wasn't holding up her harp. “Then, are you…”

“Yep!” He made another little trill, and shot out of the water, clutching a leaf to float in the air. “I'm Makar from Forest Haven, the Wind Sage!”

Medli stared at him for a moment longer, then shut her eyes in a smile. “It’s very nice to meet you, Makar. So the Earth Sage plays violin?”

“Yes!” The leaf of his body fluttered a little in the wind. “And you have a harp. We should play a duet sometime!”

“That would be wonderful,” said Medli, and found that she meant it. Those long days deep in the Temple with hardly any indication of passing time and no company but the dead and undead would have made her grateful for any sort of interaction, but additionally Makar seemed like a kind and pleasant sort of person to be around, if a bit energetic. “But first, I think we should get to dry land,” she added. “I don't know how much longer I can hold my arms up.”

Makar made a tinkling, chiming sound like laughter, shouted “last one there's a spoiled seed!”, and took off towards the islet on a light breeze, floating with his leaf. Medli sighed.

There was no way she could fly over, not without something stable to push off of to get herself out of the ocean, and even if there was she wouldn't be getting anywhere with wings this waterlogged. Swimming it was, and she hoped to all the gods that the tide would bring her over quickly because her legs were already tiring. And she had to keep her harp up, so she only had one useable arm.

Either the islet was much farther away than it appeared or Medli was an even slower swimmer than she'd thought, because what seemed ages later she still hadn't reached it. She _had_ nearly dropped her harp in the sea at least three times, though.

A blur of green caught her eye and she looked up to see Makar hovering beside her, wavering up and down, up and down like he was concerned. “Can't you fly?” he said, trilling worry. “Aren't you a Rito? I thought you could fly, or I wouldn't have gone off!”

Medli smiled apologetically. “I'm not much of a flier, unfortunately.”

“Oh,” said Makar. He was silent for a moment, then added, like he was apologizing, “I think it gets shallow enough for you to walk in just a little bit, if you want to.”

“Thank you,” said Medli. She smiled at him again and struck out with new energy, Makar bobbing beside her and then sitting on her head light as a leaf once her feet touched rock.

Together, they waded up to the islet, holding instruments above wavespray and shivering when they left the surprising warmth of the midafternoon tide. It was a small, triangular piece of rock, spotted with occasional greenery and sloping gently up to the northmost corner, which held a pale red orb Medli recognized immediately.

She scrambled up the water-smoothed rock, suddenly full of breath despite being breathless, the skirt of her dress catching on a thorny little shrub and ripping as she continued on despite it. At the peak of the islet, there was a remarkable statue all of some stone like thick red glass that Medli had never seen before, in the shape of a woman only slightly bigger than Medli, but with proportions that indicated someone far taller sculpted in miniature. And in her hands, held up to the sky and glittering in the afternoon sun, was—

“That's Din's Pearl!” said Medli, pointing. “I'd wondered what Link needed it for.” She frowned at the statue. “I hadn't thought he would just leave the treasure of the Rito out here in the open like this.”

Makar trilled from his spot on her head. Still frowning, she moved forward and touched a fingertip to the statue.

And the world turned _red_.

For just one instant, she was so many things: magma boiling in hidden caves under the earth, so excruciatingly hot as to melt iron; the clench of muscle around a sword-hilt, the thrumming whirr of gathered magic; a fist, striking; mayors, diplomats, chieftains, kings; the pulse of a vast hurricane sweeping northwards, the blinding crash of thunderstorms to the west; secrets so pivotal they could bring down empires; power, endless power, so unbearable she was going to explode, except—

It calmed.

_Greetings, Sage of Earth._ The voice of the statue was old and soft, almost rusty, and it spoke both aloud and in her mind— that mind-voice called images of a kinder sort of power with a gentle surety, steady and regal: a parent’s warmth; fire flicking brightly in an ancient stone hearth, weathered by time but unbroken; clemency against all hope; wings beating with the breath of the wind, keeping a body suspended so high islands were strung out below like driftwood. _Our apologies for the defense mechanism,_ said the statue, still in that calm voice. _It is a necessary precaution._

“Um…” said Medli. She was still trying to catch the breath that had been knocked right out of her by the first wash of power. “I apologize for disturbing you,” she added, ducking her head in a small bow and then straightening quickly when she felt Makar start to slip forward off her hair. “I hope we are not the cause of any offence, O Guardian of this island.”

The statue ignored her, intoned: _Wandering Sage, displaced from your sanctuary— what you seek will soon appear._ She wondered if it could hear her at all, or was just responding to her presence with that strange half-life Link had showed her objects blessed by the Goddesses sometimes had. And Medli felt terribly bad for doubting Link’s treatment of Din’s Pearl, because clearly this statue had been blessed by the Goddess Din herself, or even created by her — and certainly it depicted her.

Makar trilled a little, and Medli removed her fingertips from the statue’s left wrist to find that she was trembling, cold all over again with seawater as the wash of power fell away like the receding tide. She took a deep breath. “Makar, you heard the statue speak, right?”

“I did,” he said, and jumped from her head to her left shoulder. “What are you seeking?”

“I don’t know,” said Medli. She took a step back from the statue and made another small bow just to be safe. “I suppose we’ll find out soon, though. Try not to touch the statue, if you can; Link was right to leave the Pearl with it — that was rather unpleasant.”

“Huh!” said Makar. “Yeah, okay!” He hopped to the ground, chiming a little, and started on tuning his violin.

Medli stretched, then sat down herself. She put her harp down in the sun next to the statue to dry — she would tune it afterwards — and set to work preening her feathers.

Like any waterbird, a Rito’s feathers were to a degree water-resistant. However, that trait required a certain amount of upkeep, and besides that, normally a Rito’s wings weren’t submerged in the ocean for however long Medli had been in there. There would be no flying until she dealt with the consequences.

As she straightened her feathers out one by one, running over them with her beak in the full, warm sun, Makar stopped his tuning to watch her quizzically. Seeing as she couldn’t very well talk with a mouth full of feathers, he didn’t ask his questions, and ended up wandering around the islet examining the plants instead, trilling interest and delight.

Eventually, she was dry and flight-worthy again. She stretched out her wings and took off on a passing updraft, harp on her back and wind in her face, eyes shut in delight at the sudden, breathless freedom of open air and cloudless sky.

She circled the islet three times, slitting her eyes to keep it properly in sight, and was about to come down when she spotted a ship over the horizon.

Curious, she flew towards it, and found that Makar had joined her in the air, laughing as he rode the currents on his strange leaf. He tried to say something, but she couldn’t make out his words over the rush in her ears and the familiar ache in her wings. She hadn’t flown like this in too long; she would be sore tomorrow.

Makar trilled again, more urgently, and Medli looked back at the ship. The ship that was rapidly closing distance between them. The ship that had an intimidating cannon on its front and crossed swords on its sail.

The _pirate_ ship.

Oh, Golden Goddesses above, what had they got themselves into?

Still, the statue had said something they sought would appear soon, and this was a better lead than none. And, honestly, Medli just wanted to go _somewhere_. It was only outside of it that she was realizing how miserable being cooped up in the Earth Temple had been. She was glad she could do something to help the world, to help Link. But she was also glad that that part of her duty looked to be, some way or another, at a close.

“ _Hoooooooooy!_ ” came a shout from the pirate ship, and Medli swooped closer to see a young Hylian girl who looked faintly familiar, even though Medli had never seen her in her life. Her dress was bright yellow with a skull pattern, and she was surrounded by a whole flock of gulls, one of whom took off to join the two of them in the air, like an escort. Medli met Makar’s eyes, and they shrugged in tandem.

Makar came up behind her and held onto her hair as they landed on the deck, so that he wouldn’t be blown away. When her feet touched down, he hopped off and landed beside her.

“Hoy!” said Medli. Makar trilled.

Up close, the girl looked even more familiar, and Medli realized with a jolt that it was because she looked like Link.

“Oh, good, I can see you properly now, it's so much harder without my telescope!” said the girl. She stopped squinting and pouted. “Big Brother had better get done with what important things he's doing and give it back soon. He better!”

“Um… I'm sure he will,” said Medli, trying to piece the situation together in her mind. _What you seek will soon appear._ Quill had spoken multiple times about the sister Link was trying to rescue, and she swore she had caught a glimpse or two of her in the memories Link communicated to her. It was a long shot, but…

“Is your big brother named Link?” asked Makar, before Medli could get a word out.

The pirates, who had been watching them with hands on weapons since they landed, jolted. The girl's eyes went wide in that same comical way Medli recognized from Link when he was startled. She nodded emphatically. “Yeah!”

One of the shortest pirates stepped forward, glaring through cracked glasses, and demanded, “What do you want with Aryll, huh?”

“Miss Tetra told us to take care of her right before she disappeared, so you're not touching her!” said another one, one of the bigger pirates. He waved his sword in the air.

“Yeah, we ain't going against what Miss Tetra said afore she comes back!”

Some more swords were unsheathed, and Aryll's eyes got, somehow, even wider. Makar trilled alarm and scuttled to hide behind Medli's legs.

Medli herself tensed to dodge an unexpected blow and take flight — navigating a monster-invested Temple had meant she got really good at not getting killed. But that could be taken as escalating tensions, so she stilled her instincts with an effort of will and raised her arms, palms forwards, in a gesture of peace.

“We mean no harm,” she said, “and apologize for the intrusion.” She tried her best diplomat's smile, the one her teacher had taught her for using on feuding councilmembers and irritable children. “If it helps at all, we're friends of Link's.”

“You _are_?” Aryll said. “Wait, you have wings like a bird, and _you’re_ like a leaf, does that mean you’re the friends Link talks about in his letters?” Her mouth made a wobbly line as she concentrated. “Um… Medli and, uh, Makar, right?”

Makar trilled a high, delighted note, and said, “That’s us!”

Medli held out a hand to shake — Aryll took it, looking slightly confused. “I’m Medli of Dragon Roost Island. It’s good to meet you; Aryll, right?”

“Yep! I’m Aryll!” Aryll’s face split in a smile so wide it shut her eyes. It was an expression that Medli felt should be familiar, except she wasn’t sure she had ever seen Link smile like that. “It’s good to meet you too, Medli and Makar!” Then her face firmed, in a way that was much more recognizable from her brother. “Do you know anything about where Big Brother is?”

Medli politely ignored all the pirates putting away their weapons and pretending that they weren't eavesdropping. “I apologize,” she said, “the last I saw him was when we reached the sacred chamber at the center of the Earth Temple — I believe after that he left to find Makar.”

Aryll turned to Makar, crouching down to be at eye level with him. “What about you, have you heard anything?”

Makar made a distressed little trill. “No… the last time I saw him was in the Wind Temple! With the sword properly empowered he probably went to beat Ganondorf, but…”

“He _must_ have won,” said Medli. “Why else would the gods have sent those bubbles to carry us to the surface?”

“You came up here in _bubbles_?” said one of the pirates, a big burly man who would probably have been intimidating before Medli had met undead monsters and had her standards for fear completely messed up.

“You were _underwater_?” said Aryll. She straightened up to stare properly.

“Oh yeah,” said the same pirate, “yeah, what the—? You were underwater?” He didn't seem to enjoy being outthought by a child. Then he remembered that he was pretending not to listen and turned around very obviously to coil some rope.

“Yes to both!” said Makar. He trilled and spun on his leaf for a moment, like an extra high bounce. “The Temples are in old Hyrule, so we had to get in through this tiny little island up by Windfall and then fall a looooong way down.” He jumped up on the railing and then to Medli's shoulder and leaned towards Aryll conspiratorially. “Even the Great Deku Tree wasn't as tall as how far down we went, you know.”

Aryll looked at him with wide eyes and said, “What's the Great Deku Tree?”

“You don't _know_ about the _Great Deku Tree_?” gasped Makar, like it was the most scandalous thing in the world.

Medli decided not to mention that she had never heard of the Great Deku Tree either.

“The Great Deku tree is the guardian spirit of Forest Haven and the Koroks!” enthused Makar, right next to Medli’s ear. “It’s a great big tree, the biggest tree in the _whole world_ , and it can talk, and it’s been around since _forever_ , and I—” Medli just barely caught Makar as he tumbled off her shoulder. “Oh, _Farore_ , I didn’t _tell it_ I was leaving when I went with Link to the Earth Temple.” From Medli’s hands, he made another distressed trill and squirmed to sit, shoved his face into his hands. “Oh no… It’s going to be so disappointed in me…”

“I’m sure the Great Deku Tree will understand,” reassured Medli. She set him back on her shoulder. “He must have been affected by Ganondorf, too, right?” Din, she hoped the Great _Valoo_ would understand. He’d never been without an attendant for this long in living memory, and with all the stresses of late…

Aryll asked guilelessly, “Who’s Ganondorf?”

But before Medli could formulate an answer that wouldn’t set Aryll worrying for her brother even more than she already was, a shout of “Miss Tetra!” came up from across the ship, and like the tide, everyone surged portside.

“Miss Tetra! Miss Tetra!” shouted the pirates, and then Aryll, who had slipped ahead of Medli and Makar in the rush, added, “Link!”

Medli abandoned the battle for the railing and shot into the air as quick as her tired wings could carry her.

And then she nearly fell right on top of some unfortunate pirate when she spotted some girl about her age swearing enough to make a postman blush. And next to her, Link, injured but alive, injured but _smiling_ , waving at her despite the blood in his hair with all the confidence of victory.

Medli let out a breath she must have been holding in since Valoo blocked passage to Dragon Roost Cavern, and waved back.

**Author's Note:**

> ive had this fic sitting around almost done for like at least a week but i was too distracted by playing through minish cap to do anything about it, oops
> 
> (play minish cap its so good)


End file.
